Stark County, Ohio · Canton
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With 43% of homes built before 1960 and about 32 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Stark County, part of 4.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
43% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Stark County, 2.12 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
3% of occupied homes in Stark County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
About 31 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
With 167,949 homes and around 373,713 residents, Stark County is 575 square miles of eastern Ohio. Besides Canton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Massillon, Alliance and North Canton. The county's median home was built in 1966.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Stark County ranks 49 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Stark County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
For frozen pipes, Stark County is a typical Ohio county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 110 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 35th of 88 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 16 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -12°F on February 20, 2015.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 31 and the last spring freeze around Apr 23.
Stark gets fewer downpours than most Ohio counties, but they still fill basements. About 4.1 days a year bring an inch or more (75th of 88), most often in June, out of 39.8 inches of total precipitation. On September 10, 2018, 2.12 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.43 inches (through September 10, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 84 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Ohio's 88 counties range widely in housing age; Stark ranks 18th, with 71% of its homes built before 1980.
In Stark County 43% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Stark County averages 31 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Stark County's occupied homes: 77% utility gas, 16% electric, 2% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Stark County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carroll, Columbiana, Holmes, Mahoning, Portage and Wayne get more pipe-freeze nights than Stark. Mahoning County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Stark | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 37% | 22 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 61% | 18 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 17% | 67 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.2% | 5.9% | 73 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 7.1% | 8.4% | 55 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.1% | 16% | 80 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 32/yr | 31/yr | 35 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.1/yr | 5.7/yr | 75 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 82/yr | 31 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 31/yr | 35/yr | 59 of 88 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Ohio county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Stark County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, June and September.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology